Then the angel said to them, “I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucified. He is not here, for he has been raised just as he said.” Christ Jesus is risen….Hallelujah!! Yes, we serve a risen savior. He’s in the world today. That is really one of the main points of the Easter message. Too often, when we think of Jesus rising from death, we think of him going to heaven — and we usually think of heaven as some place far away. But Jesus still dwells among us in:

The Crucified People: The 50 million of our brothers and sisters who die each year of hunger. Jesus still dwells with the children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, some as young as 12 and 13 years of age, who are subjected to forced labor to mine an ore called columbite-tantalite- coltan for short, one of the worlds’ most sought-after materials. Refine coltan and you get a highly heat-resistant metal powder called tantalum. You may not have heard of it, but you have it in your cell phone, laptops, pagers and other electronic devices and 80% of it comes from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Jesus also dwells among the multitude of innocent victims of war and violence. Yes, Jesus still dwells among the poor in every country; the homeless, the helpless, the oppressed, the hopeless; those who do not feel the joy of the resurrection, those who are not allowed to know of his love, those who have no celebration. Jesus is still in the world today in:

The People of the Resurrection: The risen Christ is alive and at work in many ways in every aspect of life in this world, but he is especially present and at work through the church. He is alive in the People of the Resurrection, who function as the body of Christ in the world. Through them, Christ works to reach out in love, to help, to heal, to show the way to a new possibility. We can look around and see our world falling apart because of the loss of human values and morality, exploitation, corruption, and injustice causing famine, oppression and wars and every kind of human suffering. When these things make our hearts ache, we can know that there is hope for our world. God is still at work in our world trying to teach the world to love just as he did through Jesus. As People of the Resurrection we find ourselves being called to become a part of this hope for the world. Jesus called people to follow him and participate in the work he was doing. Jesus has asked us to be part of building a better world, starting in our own church and community. Jesus called people to follow him and it is faith in the resurrection that has brought us to this fullness of life. We are now representing the risen Christ because we are parts of the church, the body of Christ.

So as we ask God’s blessing on our Easter celebration which we share with family and friends, let us close our eyes and remember those who cannot celebrate. Let us be in solidarity with them and ask God to show us our part in living the risen life.

Sylvia Bates